Setting Up Tank, Not Sure What Filter ?

[lee_essex]

Hello,

im setting up my old tank, i use to have an undergravel filter, but dont really want this type of filter anymore, dont really know what im dealing with now, what is the recommended type of filter, i want to have sand instead of gravel. the tank size is about 300L.

i would like it to be quite as its going in my bedroom.

Thanks, lee

 

[OldMan47]

For a large tank like that, with sand substrate, I would favor a canister type filter like one of the Rena XP series. The advatage of a canister is that if you manage to get some of the fine bits of sand into suspension and it goes into the filter, it will encounter the filter before getting to the pump impeller. This means that the pump impeller only needs to deal with filtered water. In a typical hang on the back filter, the first thing after the inlet tube is the pump impeller, then the filter compartments. If any sand gets into them, it can destroy the pump impeller and even ruin the housing the pump magnet sits in. I prefer the Rena filter mostly because I have had good experiences with them. I have never been willing to spend as much as an Eheim costs so I may have missed a good filter there too. My experience with the Marineland C series is that I don't like their hose shutoff as well and you need to be more careful to assemble them properly but they seem to work fine. The only Fluval that I have tried is an internal filter, not a canister so I have no experience there either.

 

[Colin_T]

I concur with oldman47 (who isn't much older than me if that's his real age). An external cannister filter would be fine. Get a brand name like rena, fluval or eheim and go as big as you can afford.

Have the intake of the filter a couple of inches above the sand and you shouldn't have a problem.

 

[omordn]

External filters are good, such as Rena. But if you don't want to go that route... I'd do a Marineland. They are not as quiet but they do their job. I am really satisfied with marineland.

 

[lee_essex]

thanks guys,


whats the difference between an internal and external filter ?

Lee

 

[Colin_T]

internal filters sit inside the tank. External outside. Internals have less filter media and need cleaning more often.

 

[lee_essex]

with an external filter, does it suck the water out of the tank go through a fine mesh stuff to catch all the crap and then pump the water back in the tank ?


Lee

 

[lee_essex]

ive just measured my tank, and i is 106L, slightly wrong with the 300L i guessed at, sorry.

i was just looking at some filters and saw these 2.

http/cgi.ebay.co.uk/New-Fluval-105-Exter...1QQcmdZViewItem

http/cgi.ebay.co.uk/New-Fluval-205-Exter...1QQcmdZViewItem

there is only about £2 differnece in price, are these any good, and would i need to buy any other parts to go with the filter for it to work ?

would they be ok with sand ?


Thanks guys.

 

[Gremily]

Leicester Aquatics have Eheim 2213s (inc. media and taps) for ~£40 atm:
http/www.leicesteraquatics.com/catalog/p.../products_id/29

 

[Miss Wiggle]

yeah that's the sort of thing you want, you'll find there's not a huge difference in price between models so it's worth spending a little bit of extra money for the bigger ones.

personally i would go for eheim over fluval and rena for different reasons though

fluval's are good little filters.... for 2 years, then they will start leaking and you'll need to replace parts etc

eheim's will run and run

rena's are a little bit noisy, but reliable

eheim's are virtually silent.

 

[SJ2K]

Id avoid any fluvals apart fro the FX5 range (which is a little over kill for 106l)...The eheim 2213/2215 is fine, or a tetratec EX700 is also a good option.

 

[Colin_T]

with an external filter, does it suck the water out of the tank go through a fine mesh stuff to catch all the crap and then pump the water back in the tank ?

Yep. All external filters have various filter materials in them to trap the gunk and stop foreign matter from damaging the motor. Most of them also come with all the filter materials required. Some come with ammonia remover (a white granulated substance). Don't use this if you get it because it messes up the bacteria in the filter. You can usually add extra foam to most filters.

The Fluval 105 & 205 are good filters but the 105 only holds about half as much material as the 205, so you are better off getting the bigger filter for a couple fo dollars more.

Fluvals are generally pretty good. I had one for 20 years and only replaced the impellor and O-ring once during that time.
Eheims are also very good and Renas are good too.